Global Economics

Denmark Tops in Training IT Pros

In a survey of European IT professionals, 27% in Denmark say they received recent training, with Britain second at 26%

The UK's techies are more likely to get training than their peers in all other European countries -- apart from Denmark, according to research.

More than one in four (26 per cent) of IT pros in the UK had received training in the preceding month, against a European average of 15 per cent, research from e-skills UK and the European Commission's statistical office Eurostat reveals.

Belgian IT staff are among the least likely to receive job-related education or training, six per cent said they had received such training in the four weeks prior to being surveyed in the third quarter of 2006.

Denmark has trained 27 per cent of IT professionals in the last four weeks, the research covering the original group of 15 EU member states reveals.

Karen Price, CEO of e-skills UK, said it is "very encouraging" that the UK is among Europe's leaders in terms of investment in IT professional skills but it is vital the country does not become "complacent" over training.

The vast majority of IT staff working in the EU are male, with women representing less than one in five of the workforce across Europe -- dropping to less than one in 10 for Belgium, Greece, Luxembourg and Portugal.

Less than one-sixth (14 per cent) of the UK's IT staff are women. Ireland leads the rankings with a 19 per cent female workforce, according to the e-skills UK Quarterly Review of the ICT Labour Market for the first quarter in 2007.

Previous research has found women are abandoning techie careers with many put off by the long-hours and lack of flexible working.